Haridwar: Chinese Manja has turned into a death trap for not only humans but also birds of Haridwar as vultures, eagles, owls and herons as well as migratory birds like Ibis and Egyptian Vulture have sustained injuries after getting entangled in the sharp string.
"About 10 cases of bird injury due to Chinese Manja have come to light in Haridwar which includes migratory birds who have been rescued and treated successfully. A special team will be formed by the forest department to prevent such incidents. The cooperation of the administration and the police will be sought for this. We also appeal to the public to refrain from using Chinese manja," Haridwar DFO Vaibhav Singh said.
"We will also run a special campaign in the forests under which the team of forest department will burn the Chinese thread that lands in the forests through kites. The order has already been issued and the employees have been told to patrol their respective areas and burn the Manjas soon after spotting," Singh added.
In Haridwar alone, 30 people received injuries from the killer string and two of them succumbed to their injuries. On January 2, one Ashok Kumar died after getting entangled in Chinese Manja near Raja Garden. A resident of Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, he used to operate a hydra in the Namami Gange project in Haridwar. While operating the hydra, the Chinese Manja suddenly got stuck in his neck and slit through.
On February 2, a biker's throat was slit by a manja in the Gurukul area of Haridwar, leading to his death. The deceased, Sulekh Chand, was a junior engineer with the Railways, posted in Punjab. He was returning with his wife from AIIMS Rishikesh.
Chinese Manja is the outcome of a mixture of plastic, metal and ground glass, which makes it razor-sharp. The presence of metal makes it a good conductor of electricity, which makes it more vulnerable if comes in contact with live wires. The string is so sturdy that it doesn't break easily, making it a lethal object if humans or birds get entangled.
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